El carpintero estadounidense y el jardinero africano: vidas paralelas en la Medicina y el Cine

Abstract

[ES] Este trabajo rescata las vidas paralelas de dos hombres: Vivien T. Thomas, el carpintero estadounidense, y Hamilton Naki, el jardinero africano, que, viviendo en ambientes hostiles de falta de medios y de segregación racial, llegaron a sobresalir de tal modo en la Medicina que ambos contribuyeron de manera significativa a ella, junto a médicos del renombre de Alfred Blalock y Christian Barnard. A su vez, uno y otro recibieron el doctorado honoris causa sin poder haber sido médicos (como era su deseo), son destacados en sus respectivos países de nacimiento y merecieron reconocimientos fílmicos (Partners of the Heart (2003) de Bill Duke y Andrea Kalin y A corazón abierto/ Something the Lord Made (2004) de Joseph Sargent para Vivien T. Thomas y un documental en proyecto Hands of a Forgotten Hero para Hamilton Naki), susceptibles de servir de ejemplo a alumnos y profesionales de la salud en particular y al público en general así como de ser debatidos en los aspectos académicos, ético-morales y humanos que ofrecen.

[EN] This article tackles the lives of two people -Vivien T. Thomas, the American carpenter, and Hamilton Naki, the African gardenerwho, living in hostile environments with few means and hounded by racial segregation, managed to achieve such success in the field of medicine that both contributed significantly to it, together with physicians as well known as Alfred Blalock and Christian Barnard. In due course, even though they had not managed to become physicians (as they had wished to be) both received honorary doctorates. They are revered in their respective countries of origin and were portrayed in the cinema: Partners of the Heart (2003) by Bill Duke and Andrea Kalin and Something the Lord Made (2004) by Joseph Sargent in the case of Vivien T. Thomas, while in the case of Hamilton Naki there is a documentary in project phase: Hands of a Forgotten Hero. These films could serve as examples for health students and professionals, in particular, and the public in general, and could serve as material for debate as regards their academic, ethical-moral and humanitarian aspects.